At the 6th edition of the biennial summit that kicked off in Gandhinagar on Friday, the glorification of Modi was taken to a new level, with Anil Ambani putting him on the same pedestal as Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Ambani went on to liken the Gujarat chief minister to legendary warrior Arjun of the Mahabharat. Other industry and business leaders, too, praised in one voice his "leadership qualities" and "vision". Many of them pledged massive investments.

This resounding endorsement from industry captains came as another shot in the arm for Modi after his third consecutive electoral victory even as there has been increasing criticism of Gujarat's poor performance on social and human development fronts.

The CM, on his part, used the showpiece event to once again woo investors and to stress how the 'Gujarat model of development' had proved to be a success while the rest of the world grappled with economic slowdown. Another reason for Modi to celebrate was that even diplomats and business leaders from across the world sang his paeans, giving a fillip to his national and global ambition.

The presence of the heads of the diplomatic missions of Canada, Japan and Britain on the Vibrant Gujarat stage came as a big boost for Modi's image and ambition.

While Canada and Japan are partners in the summit, Britain is attending the event for the first time after ending Modi's decade-long boycott.

The UK High Commissioner to India James Bevan said: "Britain is back. Gujarat is great and so is Britain. Let us work together."

However, it was Anil Ambani's lavish praise of Modi that was the highlight of the inaugural day of the summit.

"Narendrabhai has the Arjunalike clarity of vision," he said. Going into the literal meaning of the word Narendra, Ambani called Modi "a leader among leaders and a king among kings".

His elder brother and Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani too hailed the CM as a leader with "grand vision and determination to translate that vision into reality". He announced that the RIL would invest Rs 1,00,000 crore in Gujarat over the next four years.

Speaking on the occasion, Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra, Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, R.C. Bhargava of Maruti and CII chief Adi Godrej, too, lauded Modi for his effective industry friendly governance. In his address, Modi said that in just a decade the summit had taken a shape of a global event and called it "India's biggest global trade show".

Dressed to impress

The encomiums showered on Narendra Modi at the Vibrant Gujarat summit were hardly surprising as it has become almost a ritual at the biennial congregation.

Ratan Tata greets Narendra Modi at Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

What came as a surprise was the Gujarat CM's sartorial taste. On Thursday, he chose to dress in western attire. But on Friday, the CM was back in his standard outfit.

He wore an off-white long-sleeved kurta with a navy blue sleeveless Nehru-collar waistcoat in raw silk. He gave the ensemble a finishing touch with a red-print silk pocket square.

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